Lemon Asparagus Pasta Salad

First thing in the morning I have one job. Wake up, wash my face and brush my teeth. Sounds simple enough, right? It usually is, but this week it went awry in the most untasteful way. I mixed up my face wash and my toothpaste. On the upside my mouth felt very clean. All of...Read More

Servings

4 -6 servings

Total time

20 minutes

Cuisines

Courses

Ingredients

1 lb asparagus

16 oz . brown rice penne pasta

0.5 cup loosely packed fresh basil

2 cups loosely packed spinach

for the dressing:

zest from one lemon

0.25 cup olive oil

0.25 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons minced tarragon

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Method

Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients until combined. Set aside.

Prepare an ice bath, which you'll need for cooking the asparagus, by filling a bowl with cold water and ice.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous pinch of salt, 2-3 teaspoons, to the water. Once the water is boiling add in the asparagus. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the asparagus is cooked, but still slightly crisp. Remove the asparagus and plunge them immediately into the ice bath. Let sit in the ice bath for 5 minutes then drain and pat dry.

Add the pasta into the boiling water (I use the same water that I cooked the asparagus in) and cook according to package directions. Strain pasta and immediately rinse with cold water to cool the noodles down.

Combine the asparagus, noodles, basil, spinach and dressing. Toss to combine and serve.